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Do I need to retake GCSEs or just do access course

Hi, I don’t know if I’m asking this on the correct forum but here goes:

So I’m 28 and took my GCSEs 12 years ago. I did poor in my GCSEs (only got 1 C) and didn’t take all subjects due to circumstances I was facing at the time.

I’ve now decided I want to be a paramedic and therefore need better grades but my question is:

Do I need to start at the bottom and retake my GCSEs or can I just do an access course ready for uni?

I really have no clue about all of this so I’m looking for some help and guidance

Reply 1

De Montfort University

Official Rep

Original post by NatalieBx

Hey @NatalieBx

Most institutions require you to have GCSE Maths and English at Grade 4 or above to apply for the HE Access courses. I would suggest that you contact the institution that you are interested in applying to in order to confirm their entry requirements. Additionally, you can also consider the possibility of studying one of the core GCSEs alongside your course, however, this might differ per institution.

I hope this helps.

- Dennis :biggrin:

(PhD Air Transport Management student)

Reply 2

DataVenia

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

I'm not sure you'll necessarily need to "retake my GCSEs" (plural). It depends on what that C was in. Any chance it was Maths or English Language?

If you look at the entry requirements for various paramedic science degrees you find that they all have GCSE requirements, although some are more willing to accept alternatives than others:

* "Five subjects graded 4 (C) or above" / "Five subjects which must include English Language, Maths and Science (Double or Triple Award)." / "We accept resits of GCSEs. We do not accept Adult Literacy and Numeracy or Functional Skills instead of GCSEs."
* "Grade C/4 or above in English Language or Literature, Mathematics and Science, or equivalent. We do not accept Level 2 Key Skills, Functional Skills or Certificate in Adult Literacy and Numeracy as alternatives to GCSEs."
* "English Language, Mathematics and Science at Grade C(4) (equivalents for Science only may be considered)."
* "GCSE (minimum grade C or grade 4)" / "with Access course – GCSE maths and English. with A-levels, BTEC, K101 or K102 – at least three GCSEs including maths, English and science." / "If you do not have GCSEs and the course you are interested in has a mandatory GCSE requirement, we accept Functional Skills instead as long as they are passed at Level 2. This is considered comparable to a GCSE at grade C/4."

I don't know any paramedic science degrees that dispense with the requirements for grade 4 in GCSE Maths and English (or equivalent) all together. In the ideal world you'd take Maths and/or English GCSEs alongside your access course, but I don't know if that's possible in reality. Checking a few access courses for paramedic science shows that you normally need GCSEs to access the access course:

* "Candidates are required to have GCSE English Language at grade C/4 or above; L2 Functional Skills English Language is not acceptable. GCSE Maths is required at minimum grade D/3."
* "To be eligible for a place on this programme, you must have a GCSE at grade 4 (C) or above in English and maths, or a Functional Skills Level 2 qualification."

However, this does not appear to always be the case:

* "You should preferably have GCSE Maths and English at grade 4 and above." / "Previous experience and skills in the Health Care sector is desirable."
* "Entry Requirements: No formal qualifications."

So it seems that you can't avoid having at GCSE Maths and English. However, you can avoid having those first if you can:

1. Find an access course for Paramedic Science which has no GCSE requirement (for example this "no formal qualifications ae required" one from New College Lanarkshire, although it's currently full and closed to further applications).
2. Take at least GCSE English and Maths alongside the access course.
3. Apply to a Paramedic Science degree where they're happy to take the access course (e.g. this one at the University of Brighton).

Of course, you would have more options if you did the GCSE first (as many access courses require them), but that'll add a year or so onto your journey.

I would strongly recommend that you research this backwards. So find a list of paramedic science degrees where there's happy with an access course, and establish whether of not any access course will do, or whether there are any types of access course they will/won't accept. Then locate such an access course that has no GCSE requriements for entry. (The risk of doing it the other way around is that you could end up not being accepted at uni because of some issue with the access course.)